1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an improved data processing system. More specifically, the present invention is directed to a computer implemented method, system, and computer usable program code for associating parts and assemblies to an object in a manufacturing process.
2. Description of the Related Art
Today, tracking part histories for serialized parts is extremely difficult because there is not a convenient, practical system for following such parts across multiple levels of product structure and multiple uses of the same instance of a part. Real-time collection and analysis of production data has become a central issue in manufacturing operations. On the other hand, real-time data collection is particularly difficult to carry out in the context of general manufacturing operations. This difficulty arises from the requirement for effective real-time analysis that data collection be rapid and substantially error-free.
Conventional quality control systems have relied upon manual recordation of production data prior to analysis. Manual entry of data into the computer's database degrades the effectiveness of automated production analysis for two basic reasons. First, data manually entered unavoidably contains errors, whether from incorrectly inputting the data or simply losing the data. Second, manual data entry creates an inherent processing bottleneck in the analysis process because human operators cannot achieve data entry rates even approaching those of automated systems.
There is increasing pressure in a configurable build-to-order manufacturing process to produce products that match specific customer requirements with extremely short manufacturing process cycle times. These build-to-order products may be made up of thousands of parts and assemblies from multiple manufacturing locations and suppliers. The parts and assemblies may be new, returned and refurbished, equivalent to new (ETN), used for process verification, reconfigured, previously rejected but now verified as good, et cetera. The typical manufacturing process that considers all of these types of parts and assemblies as “equal” does not allow for shortened manufacturing process cycle times while maintaining a high level of quality, which the customer expects.
Currently, manufacturing process control systems are only concerned with the current status of a part. The historical status of a part at a given point in time is typically not maintained. Or at best, the historical status may only be ascertained by following a meager “breadcrumb trail” across multiple databases after extensive research or data mining. Also, a potential for data loss may exist when the part is built into a lower-level assembly, which is later built into a finished product, if proper historical ties are not in place across the databases. Existing “industry standard” manufacturing process control systems are not capable of solving these problems.
Therefore, it would be beneficial to have an improved computer implemented method, system, and computer usable program code for maintaining part associations through all activities a part has been involved in for the life of that part, regardless of the assembly level that performed that activity.